PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island ranked 14th in the nation for its percentage of hospitals that received A grades in the Leapfrog Group’s fall hospital safety grade report released Monday.
Leapfrog assigns A, B, C, D and F letter grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals bi-annually, assessing medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections to come up with its findings.
Ten hospitals were scored by Leapfrog in the Ocean State, with four receiving A grades: South County Hospital in South Kingstown, Miriam Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital and Roger Williams Medical Center.
Newport Hospital received a B grade, while Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island in Pawtucket, Kent Hospital in Warwick, Fatima Hospital in North Providence, Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket and Westerly Hospital received C grades.
In southeastern Massachusetts, St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, St. Anne’s Hospital and Charlton Memorial Hospital, both in Fall River, received A grades. Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro received a B, while Morton Hospital in Taunton received a C.
Of the 2,633 hospitals evaluated in the nation, 844 earned an A; 658 received a B; 954, a C; 157, a D; and 20, an F.
The top-ranked state was Hawaii, followed by Idaho and Maine. Massachusetts also placed seventh-best on the list, with Vermont placing eighth. New Hampshire came in at 21st, while Connecticut ranked the lowest among the New England states at 36th.
“In the fast-changing health care landscape, patients should be aware that hospitals are not all equally competent at protecting them from injuries and infections. We believe everyone has the right to know which hospitals are the safest and encourage community members to call on their local hospitals to change, and on their elected officials to spur them to action,” Leapfrog President and CEO Leah Binder said in a statement.
